Dr. Jeff Corney

Dr. Jeffrey Corney has developed and taught ecology, environmental science and outdoor education programs for K-12, college, and community audiences for the past 24 years. Corney has been serving as Managing Director of the University of Minnesota’s Cedar Creek Ecosystem Science Reserve for the past eight years, where he oversees operations of the 5,400-acre long-term ecological research (LTER) field station and teaches ecology and environmental science as an adjunct professor. Prior to arriving in Minnesota, Corney served for four years as an assistant professor of environmental science, and as the first full-time director of the Claytor Nature Study Center of Lynchburg College, a 470-acre field station and nature center located in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. Corney’s other teaching career was in outdoor wilderness education as a National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) instructor, leading expeditions and teaching in the Rocky Mountains and overseas in East Africa.

Corney conducted his graduate studies at The Ohio State University, where he earned both a masters and doctorate in natural resources. Previously, he earned a masters in communication development at Colorado State University, and a bachelors in biology from Hope College in Holland, Michigan. Corney’s primary area of study focused on the human dimension of natural resource management, particularly how to best inform and educate the public about challenging environmental and sustainability issues.

Corney grew up in southeast Michigan, developing his love for the outdoors exploring the woods and streams surrounding his family’s cottage near Ann Arbor. His wife, Sarah, is originally from northeast Ohio. Sarah earned her degree in natural resources from The Ohio State University, and shares a passion for teaching young people about wildlife and our environment. Together they have three young children, Tristan, Adelyn, and Lukas, who share their parents’ love of the outdoors.

Jeff quotes “I can think of no better or more fulfilling career than serving in education. I aspire to motivate people to engage in their natural world and enhance their environmental science literacy toward being better informed, critically thinking, and conscientious decision makers.”